Deadly typhoon strafes Japan

TOKYO – A powerful typhoon triggered landslides and caused at least 13 deaths on a Japanese island, before sweeping up the country’s east coast, grounding hundreds of flights and paralyzing public transportation in Tokyo during today’s morning rush hour.

Rescue workers found 13 bodies, most of them buried by mudslides, on Izu Oshima island about 75 miles south of Tokyo, police and town officials said. Dozens of homes were destroyed, and more than 50 people are missing.

“We have no idea how bad the extent of damage could be,” town official Hinani Uematsu said.

NHK public television showed rescue workers struggling to dig a woman out of a heap of debris as she shrieked in pain. A rescuer told NHK that he almost walked by the spot without seeing the woman in the debris until she cried out, “Help!”

Typhoon Wipha packed winds of up to 110 mph and stayed offshore. Dozens of schools were closed in the Tokyo area. More heavy rain and wind were forecast through today.